The Writing Process

When you look at a book, you do not see the process the writer used to make it. What you see in print might not be much like the first plan for the book at all. The author may have rewritten it many times.

The writing process is often divided into five stages. Most writers go back and forth through these stages. There is no one correct way to write.

~ Descriptive ~ Describe with details using the 5 senses. (p. 135)

~ Expository ~ Explain or inform by giving facts or information. (p. 173+)

~ Persuasive ~ Get people to see your way by using reasons, examples, statistics, facts, etc. (p. 197)

~ Narrative ~ To tell a story or entertain with fiction or nonfiction. (p. 139)

A. Identify Purpose

Step 1 ~ PrewritingW

rite about what you

would see, smell,

taste, touch, & hear

on this beach.

When I was a kid, my

parents took me to the

beach for the first tim

e.

We visited exciting places

and saw many interesting

people.

In Florida there is this amazing

beach that I think everyone should visit.

Once upon a time in a far away

land… OR When I was young I always

wanted to go to a beach…

B. Identify Audience You need to know your audience for three main reasons:

So that you can use appropriate language in your writing

So that you make sure to use appropriate sentence structure in your writing

So that you have an appropriate topic.

Prewriting Cntd.

C. Choose a

Subject

Prewriting Cntd.

* A broad, general area of

knowledge.

Vehicles

Sports

Food Books

School

Jobs

People

Music

D. Limit your subject to a suitable topic.

*A topic is a limited subject.1. One way this

can be done is by a process called

“treeing down”

Holidays

Spring/Summer Fall/Winter Religious Governmental

Easter Memorial Day July 4th

‘07 ‘08 ’09

Cul-de-sac Underwood Minnesota

Other strategies for selecting a topic include:

2. Journal Writing Write in a journal on a regular basis. Explore your personal feelings, develop your thoughts, and record events and happenings of each day. Then, underline thoughts that you would like to explore further. 3. Free

Writing

Write nonstop for 5-10 minutes to discover possible ideas. Begin with a particular focus in mind, related to the assignment.

Begins on pg. 43 in text book.

5. Listing

Begin with a thought or key word related to your topic / assignment and list words and ideas that have to do with that.

4. Clustering

Begin a cluster with a nucleus word related to your writing topic or assignment. Then cluster ideas around the nucleus word.

Weight lifting

athletes

health

enthusiasts

toning

body- builders

endurance

strength

visiblemuscles

power

exercise

weightcontrol

appearance

trouble spots

6.Reflecting, Participating, & Listening

Think about possible writing ideas as you read, as you ride to school, as you wait in the lunch line, when you travel, visit with friends, work, shop. etc.

7.Using the “Essentials of Life” Checklist (Found on page 44 in text.)

This checklist provides an endless variety of topic possibilities. Consider the third category, food. It could lead to the following writing ideas: Sensible eating habits Fast-food overload Truth in labeling on food pkgs.

Clothing communication exercise/training

Housing purpose/goals community

Food measurement faith/religion

Education machines trade/money

Family intelligence heat/fuel

Friends agriculture rules/laws

Love environment science/technology

Senses plant life work/occupation

Energy land/property private/public life

Entertainment health/medicine arts/music

Recreation literature/books natural resources

Personality tools/utensils freedom/rights

8. Writing PromptsUse the prompts below as starting points for creating

writing ideas. (The complete list can be found on page 436 in your textbook.) Think and Write About… *Describe…

current news stories a favorite photograph world problems a person who is totally organized local problems someone who has an unusual hobby or collection notable people someone who has influenced you manners and morals a flock of birds in flight social concerns someone you met once or knew briefly customs and habits a high school dance (or other event) government and politics

*Compare… Read and Respond to… original / imitation short articles from magazines middle school / high school short articles from newspapers winter / summer song lyrics and poems like / love quotes or short stories musicians or musical groups classroom literature movies or TV programs

old friends / new friends Listen and Respond to… wisdom / knowledge news broadcasts opinion / belief interviews music videos *Cause and Effect… short films What causes tornadoes?

What causes misunderstandings? Analyze and Write About… Why do we worship sports stars? unusual statistics What causes violence? pain? quotations What causes prejudice? war? clichés

E. Gather information about your topic.

(More examples are given on pages 46-49 of your textbook.)1. Brainstorming / Free Writing ~ Write freely listing all the things you know about the topic. (See earlier notes for what this looks like.)

2. Clustering ~ Mapping or webbing ideas and information about the topic. (See earlier notes for what this looks like.)

3. Directed Writing:Write whatever comes to mind about your topic using these questions; repeating the process as often as you need to, selecting a different mode each time.

• Describe it. ~ What do you see, hear, feel, smell, or taste?

• Compare it. ~ What is it similar to? What is it different from?

• Apply it. ~ What can you do with it? How can you use it?

• Associate it.~ What connections between this and something else come to mind?

• Analyze it. ~ What parts does it have? How do they work together?

• Argue for or against it. ~ What do you like about it? What don’t you like about it? What are its strengths and its weaknesses?

4. 5 W-How Questions:Answer the questions, Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?, about your topic to identify basic information about it.

Who went along with you?

What items did you

take along?

When were you planning on

returning?

Where do you intend to

go?

Why are you making the

trip?How do you intend to get from place to

place once you are there?

Other strategies for gathering information:

5. Research Use books, Internet, magazines, newspapers, etc. to gather information about your topic.

6. Interview Interview an expert about your topic. Meet the expert in person, communicate by phone, or send questions to be answered.

F. Write your thesis statement.

A thesis statement identifies the focus of your academic essay. You are to state your thesis in a sentence that effectively expresses what you want to explore in your essay.

It may:

highlight a special condition or feature of the topic

express a feeling about the topic

take a stand for or against your topic.

Young children exposed to low levels of lead may face health problems later in life. (specific topic) (particular feature)

A specific topic a particular feature, feeling, or stand

an effective thesis statement.

Classify: Put your information/details into groups of similarity.

G.Organize your details by Classifying and Arranging.

Arrange: Put the groups of information into an outline in the order you plan to write your paper.

Step 2 ~ Writing the 1st Draft

Emphasize the introduction - opening paragraph which includes the thesis statement.

(pg. 55 of textbook)

Get all your ideas down on paper - middle paragraphs that support your thesis statement.

Don’t worry about grammar, spelling, etc.

Keep in mind tone and appropriate language for your purpose and audience.

Write a solid conclusion found in the closing paragraph. Should be 5-7 sentences. Is a statement that ties your paper together.

It may/might: make reference to your thesis make reference to your key points connect with your reader answer any unanswered questions.

Write every other line on one side of college-ruled paper using ink.

Step 3 ~ RevisingA. EvaluateFind Strengths and Weaknesses in the content of your paper ~

what you want to keep and where you need to make improvements.

B. Improve / ReviseMake changes in the content of your paper to make it better.These may be changes in ideas, organization, word choice, and

effective sentence fluency.

ADD ~ Put in NEW details, information, facts. etc.

CUT/DELETE ~ Take out unnecessary information and/or details.

REPLACE ~ Put in a different or more effective word or phrase where

you’ve taken something out.

REORDER/REWORK ~ Move information around to make the writing

more effective.

Add

Cut

Replace

Reorder

Examples of Revisions:

Step 4 ~ Proofreading/Editing

In this step you make the necessary corrections in Punctuation, Mechanics (such as spelling and capitalization), and Grammar (subject-verb agreement, pronoun usage, etc.)

Step 5 ~ Final Draft/Publishing

Qualities of a well-prepared

Final Draft:

~Typed Double Spaced

~Size 11, Times New Roman

Font

~Neatly typed ~~ Error Free

~1” Margins on all sides

~Proper 5-point Heading at the

Top

TitleYour Name Kind of EssayClass Due Date

Please Place Your Appropriate Title Here

Your Name The Kind of Essay English (I or II) Date Due

“Help! It’s time to type my final draft for English class and I don’t know what to do! There are so many

things to remember, I just can’t keep them straight. Where do I start?” If this is you then hopefully this paper will

be of assistance. You first need to remember to use size 11 , Times New Roman font. If your computer does not

have this particular font you need to use one that is comparable.

The next thing you need to do is to go to “page setup” and adjust all your margins to one-inch (1”). Once

this is complete, you should type (single-spaced) the proper 5-point heading, like the one located at the top of this

page. After typing the heading, you should then format your paragraphs to double space for the rest of your paper.

While typing, you also need to remember to put two spaces with the spacebar after each period or end punctuation.

Another thing you need to remember while typing is to indent with each new paragraph. Each time you

begin a new idea you should have a new paragraph. Each paragraph should connect to the previous paragraph with

a transitional word or sentence. The two transitions in this paper so far are, “The next thing” and “Another

thing.” Using these kinds of connectives will make the information in your paper flow more smoothly. Also keep

in mind that you do not put an extra space between paragraphs, it should be double-spaced like the rest of your

paper. Especially important to remember is to save your paper early and often, so as not to lose it if something

should happen.

Once you finish typing and before you print, please read the entire paper while it is still on the computer

screen, looking for green and red underlining. These colors identify a misspelled word or something grammatically

incorrect, indicating you need to go back and fix it. After you print your paper, please read it again, thoroughly

checking for any errors you may have previously missed. If you find any mistakes, go back to your computer

and fix them, save your changes, and then reprint your paper!

At this point and after all this hard work, your final draft should be ready to hand in. Make sure the proper

heading is at the top and bring it to class. If you have followed these guidelines your paper should be well-written

and hopefully you will receive an A. If not, then you will know what to do next time in order to earn the best grade

possible. Good luck.